Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1887-07-23
JESS.
syH.RlDER HAcGARps
Futhoret 'N1s Solon.oRsnupes SkSEte.

Futhorot ANns SoloneoEsa Mines SkSEts
% much used in South Africa, and all the
other little arrangements, small in themselves,
but of such infinite Importance to the trav'
eler in wild country, were duly attended to
by her careful hands. Then came a hurried
meal and before it was swallowed the cart was
at the door, with Jantje hanging as usual on
to the heads of the two front horses, and the
stalwart Zulu, or rather Swat boy, Mouti,
whose sole luggage appeared to consist Of q
bundle of assegais and sticks wrapped up in
grass mat, and who, hot as it was, was en-
veloped in a vast military great coat, loung-
ing placidly alongside.
Good by, John, dear john" said Bessie,
kissing him again and again, and striving to
keep back the tears that, do what she could,
would gather IN her blue eyes. "Good by,
my love"
"God bless you, dearest" he said, simply,
kissing her in answer; good by, Mr. Croft,
/ hope to see you again in week, and he
was in the cart and had gathered up the long
and intricate looking reins. Jantje let go
the horses heads and gave whoop. Mouti,
giving up star gazing, suddenly became an
animated being and scrambled into the cart
with surprising alacrity; the horses sprang
forward at hand gallop and were soon hid
den from Bessies dim sight in cloud OF dust.
Poor Bessiel 1t was hard trial; and now
that John had gone and her tears could not
distress him, she went into her room and
gave way to them freely enough.
John reached Luck's, an establishment on
the Pretoria road that happily combined the
characteristics of an inn, shop and farm
house, such as are to be met with in sparsely
. rns.Nn raHNn and
not farm house, strictly speaking, nor was
it altogether a shop, though there was
"store" attached. II the traveller were anx-
ious to obtain accommodation for man and
beast at place Of this stamp he had to pro-
ceed warily, 80 to speak, lest he should be re-
quested to move on. He must advance, hat
in hand, and ask to be taken in as a favor, as
many high handed traveller, accustomed to
the obsequious attentions of "mine host"
has learned to his cost There is DO
such dreadful autocrat as your half and half
inn keeper in South Africa, and then he is so
completely master of the situation. "If you
don't like it, go and be id to you," is his
simple answer to the remonstrances of the
infuriated voyager. And then you must
either knock under and look as though you
liked it, or trek on into the "unhostelled'
~-ila es->se.s. o.. +iair occasion, however, John
Jared well enough. To begin with he knew
the owners of this place, who were very civil
people if approached in a humble spirit, and,
furthermore, he found everybody in such a
state Of unpleasurable excitement that they
were only too glad to get another Englishman
to talk the matters over with. Not that
their information amounted to much, how
ever. There was rumor of the Bronkers
Spruit disaster and other rumors of the in
vestment of Pretoria, and Of the advance Of
large bodies of Beers to take possession Of the
pass over the Drakensburg, known as Laings
Mex, but there was no definite intelligence.
"You won't get into Pretoria" said one
melancholy man. $50 it's no use trying. The
Beers will just catch you and kill you, and
there will be an end of ii. You had better
back to Mooifontein."
But this was not Johns view of the matter
sWell," he said, "at any rate, I'll have a try. ~
Indeed, he had a sort of talldog sentiment
about him that led him to believe that, if he
made up his mind to do thing, he would do
II somehow, unless he should be physically in
capacitated by circumstances beyond his own
control. 1t is wonderful how far a mood Of
this sort will take man. Indeed, it is the
widespread possession of this sentiment that
has made England what she is. Now it is be-
ginning to die down and he legislated out of
our national character, and the results are
already commencing to appear in the incip-
lent decay Of our power. We cannot gov
ern Ireland It is hey md us; let Ireland
have home rulel We cannot cope with our
imperial responsibilities; let them be cast of
and so on. The Englishmen Of fifty years ago
did not talk like this Well, every nation be-
comes emasculated sooner or later, that seems
to be the universal fate; and it appears that
it is our lot to be emasculated, not by the
want of law. but by plethora of it. This
country was made, not by governments, but
mostly in despite of them by the independent
efforts of a series of individuals. Tue ten
deucy nowadays is to merge the individual in
the government, and to limit and ever
forcibly destroy personal enterprise and re
sponsibility. Everything is to be legislated
for or legislated against The system is only
in its bud as yet. When it blooms the eni
pire will lose touch Of its individual atoms and
become vast, soullNss machine, which will
irst get out Of order, then break down, and
last Of all, break up. We owe moro to sturdy,
determined, unconvincible Englishmen like
John Mel than we realize, or, perhaps, should
be willing to acknowledge in these enlight-
Aax